Mission: 6-Pack Abs

Benefits of swimming

Missionary — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 19:48:46 +0000

I believe that one of the best forms of exercise is swimming. It’s very low impact, compared to, say, jogging, and yet the fitness benefits are probably better. It helps your lungs stay in shape, thanks to the rhythmic breathing you have to do while swimming. It’s one terrific aerobic exercise if you do it right.

In college, I used to be with the swimming varsity team. I tried out in my first year, and the coach told me that I needed more training, but he accepted me anyway. It was a good run–err–swim for me. Until I started smoking two years later. The team captain caught me with a cigarette one lazy afternoon on campus… and that was it for me.

Anyway, I still remember what the coach said — it really stuck to my mind. He said that, in order for swimming to be beneficial as a form of exercise, you have to swim for at least 20 minutes non-stop. Then rest and do bubbles for a minute, then go do laps again.

The water makes your body buoyant, so that you don’t exert much when you swim (compared to how you move in other sports). That’s why it’s important to continuously swim for a minimum period: in order to maximize the effort. Also, to keep your heart rate up.

Swimming can be especially good for people who feel they can’t exert too much anymore due to age or injury. Since it’s such a low-impact exercise (let’s not include Olympic-level swimming here, ok?), you won’t have to worry about your bones or joints.

The least difficult in non-competitive swimming is the breast stroke (in competition, however, it is considered the most difficult to execute correctly). It’s a good technique to use because of the balance it affords and, well, safety. That’s because you’ll have your head above water most of the time. Check out this link to read more about the breast stroke.

The downside is, you’ve got to have access to a good size pool. Swimming in a kiddie pool just won’t do it!

Chelation therapy

Missionary — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 19:55:12 +0000

It’s indisputable that exercise and proper eating habits are two inescapable disciplines that we must have in order to maintain health and fitness. However, in our polluted world today, these two alone can’t guarantee our being safe from diseases. Hence, we take vitamins and supplements and such.

One way that we can assure ourselves of a healthy heart — after all, it’s one of the most important organs we have to protect — is to take up chelation therapy. This is when a chelating agent is administered in order to get rid of heavy metals in your body. One of the desired effects of this therapy is to unblock arteries by removing plaque that causes heart disease.

Traditionally, chelation therapy is used to remove lead, arsenic, mercury and other dangerous metals from the body. In layman’s terms, how this happens is that, chelating agents (such as EDTA) chemically bind themselves to the metals and thus help the body flush them out. The process of chelation was used heavily during World War I to counter the effects of poison gas.

However, the medical community today apparently does not endorse chelation therapy as a proven method for treating heart ailments. This type of therapy is actually considered as being part of alternative medicine. Still, this should not be cause for concern because alternative medicine doesn’t have a bad batting average, in my opinion.

Fish diet

Missionary — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 22:22:40 +0000

To lose some weight (maybe I’m about 10-15lbs overweight now), I’ve gone on a fish diet. It’s not really a strict regimen of fish-only meals, but for a few days now I’ve been avoiding meat. The reason? To avoid fat and cholesterol intake. And since fish is so abundant in my locale, it’s not a very difficult diet to follow.

Fish meat has high protein content, and it’s rich in iodine, and it’s arguably a healthy option to pork or beef. Chicken? I’ve never really been a fan of chicken dishes, so it’s not a hard thing for me to give up. Besides, chicken skin and the dark meat of fowl are crazy loaded with cholesterol!

I’m going to stick to this fish diet for a few more weeks and see what effects it will have on my body.

Gaining and losing weight

Missionary — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 22:21:36 +0000

During the past several months, I was always out with clients or friends… drinking. Beer mostly. Coupled with that the fact that I was eating too much carbs, I really gained weight. Two weeks ago I gained almost 15 pounds! My jeans were starting to give out on me already…

So I decided to go back to my healthy diet, and stop drinking beer. Drinking too much anyway.

Now I’m almost back down to my ideal 160 lbs (around 69 kg). What did I do? No carbs (rice and bread for the most part) after 6pm. Also, reduced intake of rice and other carbohydrate-rich foodstuffs during meals. It’s working!

Now, if only I could haul my behind back to the gym…

Review: Sleep disorder center

Missionary — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 22:19:22 +0000

Sleep — probably the most important function of our body. And this is why, without it or when lacking it, we cannot function well at all. I’m sure most of you have tried going without sleep and experienced the detrimental results. Imagine being afflicted with a sickness that robs you of your sleep. In the United States, it is estimated that there are 40 million people with sleeping disorders, often referred to as somnipathy, and that 95% of those are undiagnosed, therefore untreated.

People with somnipathy are known to experience some — or maybe even all — of the following effects: excessive daytime sleepiness, morning headaches, a continuous and uncontrollable urge to move one’s legs, obesity or excessive weight, restlessness while sleeping, trouble falling or staying asleep, depression, impotence, high blood pressure, irritability, forgetfulness, anxiety, apnea, lack of energy and motivation, difficulty learning or concentrating.

Post truncated…

I’m joining the MBS1!

Missionary — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 22:18:26 +0000

On 27 October 2007, a major blogging event will be held in Davao City, Philippines: the 1st Mindanao Bloggers Summit. I’m part of the organizing team, so of course I’ll be there. As of this writing, there are now 70 registered participants from all over the country. I do hope I’ll be meeting up with fellow health-and-fitness bloggers during this exciting event.

Thanks very much to the following sponsors for supporting the MBS1:

Post truncated…

A long-term treatment for obesity

Missionary — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 22:16:35 +0000

There simply is now getting around it: weight loss, especially for those who are considered clinically obese, is an involved process. Any quick-fix method being advertised out there can’t be 100% effective nor healthy in the long run. If you’re overweight and serious about shedding those unwanted pounds, you’ve got to commit to a change in lifestyle. For obesity, an even deeper commitment is necessary, as well as participation in certain programs that will ensure a successful and healthy weight loss process. One such program is obesity weight loss surgery.

Post truncated…

Poor eating habits

Missionary — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 22:15:39 +0000

Round, pink-cheeked babies are just adorable, aren’t they? Parents visibly beam when people remark how plump their babies or toddlers are. Conversely, they suffer anxiety attacks when friends or relatives observe that their offspring look thin. I’ve noticed in a number of new families, parents tend to fatten up their children, for fear of tongue-clicking by other people.

I believe that obesity can stem from this situation. It’s only one of various plausible reasons behind the problem of obesity, but it’s something we should seriously look at. It’s been proven time and again that eating habits in childhood influence how and what people eat as adults. When I was a kid, my folks were very strict about what I ate. Aside from fish and meats, vegetables and fruits were always on the table. I remember, I was punished a few times for not eating my greens. Today, eating all kinds of vegetables is an ingrained habit, thanks to my upbringing. I even eat bitter gourd, and I enjoy it immensely!

Post truncated…

Exercise for the advanced in years

Missionary — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 22:13:25 +0000

Many of my friends and relatives have remarked how good my mother still looks, considering she’s already well in her golden years. In fact, she still looks to be in her 40s. People who don’t know us and meet us for the first time get a mild shock when they find out that I’m really her son.

Aside from having been blessed with good skin and a petite figure, my Mom doesn’t neglect to exercise. She’s never been athletic, but now she’s taken up walking in the wee hours of the morning, about 3 times a week. There’s a mall near where we live, and she and Pop go there and walk around the whole lot (I think it’s about 5 hectares big) a few times until they work up a sweat. That is, when pop doesn’t go running.

Post truncated…

It’s crunch time!

Missionary — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 18:41:26 +0000

Crunches, that is! For those of you who want to get abs like this — or at least a flat tummy — here’s a proven method. If you persevere and don’t skip sessions, results can be realized in less time than you might think. But no, this isn’t a get-abs-quick scheme. Like I said, it’s proven.

Every other day after waking up and before getting out of bed, do a set of 15 crunches. Lay flat on your back, your lower back imprinted onto your mattress, and execute those intense crunches! After about 3 to 4 weeks of doing this (again, without missing a day!) you’ll sense that you’ve reached a plateau; you’ll feel that it’s gotten easy to do. At that point, add 3 to 5 more reps. And so on and so forth!

“Imprinting” is a way of securing your lower back from possible injury. This is especially helpful for people with lower-back pains. By the way, I hope your mattress is firm enough for this. You see, this will probably be difficult to do if you have a soft mattress (which isn’t good for your spine in the first place). If this is the case, the fastest and cheapest solution is to put a thick wooden board under your mattress. Boy, I hope your bed’s not the spring type!

Some have said that this exercise should be done daily. Well, why not? But I’ve also heard from fitness experts that overdoing an exercise doesn’t really mean overdone abs, so….

I’m still in the 15-reps cycle. It’s not as easy as it sounds! But it’s something that has to be done if I am to achieve my goal!